Bonding
by fleursdemoncoeur
Summary: While Ludwig and Gilbert are both away, Feliciano and Matthew swap fluffy stories about their relationships. Gerita and Prucan.


Bonding

_**A/N: This is part of a story exchange that I did with WindyGallowTree (she requested Prucan/Gerita). I usually don't ship Prucan, so if the characterization seems off, please tell me. WindyGallowTree, I hope that you like it! :3**_

Singing happily to himself, Feliciano skipped his way up the driveway of the Beilschmidt household. Stopping to smell the fragrant red roses in the garden, he smiled to himself. When he had found out that Ludwig was going to be coming back from a meeting in Hamburg a bit late that night, he had decided to stop over and surprise him with a home cooked meal. Even though Feliciano didn't know much about German cuisine, he had brought with him a recipe to try and make for his lover.

Digging out the key to the house from his pocket, Feliciano unlocked the door before bouncing his way into the house. He stopped to kick his loafers off of his feet, his smile growing even bigger as thoughts of his surprise for Ludwig floated through his mind. _Oh, it's going to be so much fun making Luddy his German food! He's going to be so happy and he's going to like it so much and he's going to-_

Suddenly, a gentle voice echoed throughout the house. "Gil?" it called, the voice's volume so soft that Feliciano could barely understand what was being said. "Is that you?"

Startled, he spun around in a circle, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. When he couldn't find whoever it was that had spoken, he began to feel a bit nervous. He had never exactly been brave, and hearing unexplained voices was certainly unsettling. "V-Veee? Is someone there?" An ominous thought occurred to him—what if whoever had spoken was a big, scary burglar? Or a bloodthirsty murderer? Or… _Russia_?

His brain kicking into survival mode, Feliciano hit the ground on all fours, immediately curling into a protective ball. Scrambling for something to say to dissuade whoever was out there from killing him, he began to blubber and plead at the top of his lungs. "Oh no, please don't kill me, Mr. Scary Man! Don't kill me! I probably have relatives in your country!"

To his horror, the sound of light footsteps coming towards him hit his ears. "No, no, no!" he wailed, beginning to rock back and forth on the floor. "I'll do anything you want! Except eat English food because it's nasty and one time-"

"Feliciano?"

The Italian's incoherent rambling lessened slightly. How did this man know his name? And now that the voice was closer, he could tell that it wasn't Russia's, so... Maybe he was safe? In a rare show of bravery, he peeked through his fingers in an attempt to see who this person was.

To his surprise, the man actually looked rather kind (in addition to looking a bit worried about his desperate begging and crying). Whoever it was, he was currently crouching down next to him, awkwardly patting his back in an attempt to offer comfort. "Er... I don't know who you thought I was," the man murmured shyly, "but I can assure you that I'm not going to kill you."

Feliciano sniffled pathetically, wiping the tears from his eyes. Now that he could see what the man's face looked like, he knew just who he was. The dirty blonde hair, the trademark red jacket, the timid expression on his face... this was Canada, Gilbert's new boyfriend.

"V-Veee," he whimpered, still a little shaky from his perceived near-death experience, "What are you doing here, Canada?"

The man blushed. "You can just call me Matthew if you'd like." Giving him a timid smile, he offered his hand before helping the other up. Leading him into the kitchen, he gently pushed him into one of the dining chairs before fetching a glass of milk from the fridge. He handed Feliciano the glass before sitting down himself. "You should drink that," he said softly. "When I was younger, Francis always used to give me milk when I cried. I don't know what it is about it, but drinking milk always makes me feel better when I'm upset." Gesturing for him to drink it, he added jokingly, "I haven't poisoned it or anything."

Needing no further invitation, the little Italian gulped the milk down as fast as he could, finishing most of it within about ten seconds. When he was finished, he slammed the glass on the table and took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

Matthew gazed at him sympathetically. "Feeling any better?"

Wiping his mouth, Feliciano nodded weakly. When he finally had enough air to speak, he cocked his head. "Do you live with Gilbert now or something? Is that why you're here?"

Blushing again, the Canadian shook his head. "No, no, nothing like that."

Feliciano stared at him blankly. "I don't get it."

His voice even quieter than before, Matthew looked down at his feet before continuing on. "I… I actually just stopped by to surprise him, but I think he's out with Francis and Antonio."

Hearing this, Feliciano perked up. "Really?" he exclaimed. "Luddy's away at a meeting, and I'm here to surprise him too!" His usual carefree demeanor returning in a remarkably short amount of time, he smiled at the other man. "Veee, I was going to make some of his German food for him! Wanna help me make some for Gil too?"

Matthew bit his lip. Under normal circumstances he would have politely declined, his shy nature usually making social situations stressful for him._ But_,he thought to himself,_ Gilbert's probably going to come home hungry, and it would be nice to have a warm meal ready for him. Besides, Feliciano and I never really talk, and he is dating Gilbert's brother… maybe it would be good for me to stick around and help him._ His mind made up, he gave a small nod. "Okay."

His chocolate brown eyes sparkling with excitement, Feliciano squealed before enveloping a rather startled Matthew into a hug. "Yay! Oh, this is going to be so much fun! We'll make lots of yummy food—not as yummy as pasta of course—but still yummy! Ludwig and Gilbert are going to be so happy and…"

Still blithering on, Feliciano released the other man before bounding over to the stove. To the other's dismay, he lit the stove without even putting on a pot to boil, leaving the flames to flicker and sputter by dangerously unguarded. Shooting Matthew a gleeful grin, he cried, "Well, what are you waiting for? We're going to have some fuuuuuuun!"

Managing a shaky smile of his own, Matthew nodded a single time before running over to the stove in an attempt to prevent a fire.

XxxxX

Ten minutes later, Feliciano was still chattering away, blissfully unaware of how uncomfortable the other man was. Even Alfred, Matthew's energetic brother, wasn't quite this rambunctious, and the constant noise was beginning to give him a bit of a headache.

Feliciano had announced that the dish they would be preparing was some sort of German green bean stew. The Italian would run back and forth from one side of the kitchen to the other, fetching various ingredients from the cabinets and fridge before sprinting back over to the stove. From the cheerful grin on his face and the Italian folk songs he would sing to himself as he worked, he was obviously enjoying himself.

For his part, Matthew couldn't help but feel a little awkward. The other nation was doing all of the work, and he didn't look as if he needed any help.

"Um, Feliciano?"

Taking a break from his singing in order to concentrate on stirring the stew, Feliciano looked up at him with a smile. "Veee, yes?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Matthew looked down at his feet. "Uh, is there anything I can help you with? I feel sort of bad… I'm just standing here and you're doing all of the work."

Feliciano shook his head before covering the pot of stew. "Oh no, it's almost done anyway! All that's left is to let it thicken for a while." Wiping away the few drops of sweat that had begun to collect on his forehead, he leaned against the counter. "Besides, now we can socialize and get to know each other more!" His smile growing bigger, he added, "We hardly ever talk, and you're always so quiet at world meetings!"

Matthew shuffled his feet uncertainly. He had never exactly been fond of small talk, but it seemed that Feliciano had his heart set on chatting up a storm (like usual). "O-Okay…"

"Great!" The other nation hopped over to the dining table, pulling out a chair to sit down on before motioning for Matthew to do the same. "So you and Gil just started dating a few months ago, right?"

The Canadian blushed, trying to avoid the other's gaze as he sat down as well. "Y-Yeah."

Not noticing the other's shyness, Feliciano continued on. "Veee, so where has he taken you? Any good dates so far?"

_He sure asks lots of personal questions_, thought Matthew. "Yeah…"

Never one to hold back, Feliciano leaned in excitedly. "Well? Where'd you guys go?"

His blush getting deeper, Matthew mumbled, "Well, he did take me to the carnival a few weeks ago…"

Feliciano actually squealed, causing the other man to jump back in surprise. "A carnival?! Oh, how romantic! Tell me _everything_!"

The color of Matthew's face had turned into a shade of red so fierce that it rivaled one of Antonio's tomatoes. If it had been anyone else, he would have politely told them to mind their own business and walked away. However, this was Feliciano—the little Italian had a reputation for being dangerously naïve and sensitive, and if Matthew were to say anything like that, he'd probably burst into tears. _Besides_, he reasoned, _it wouldn't hurt to tell him, right? I mean, Gilbert probably wouldn't care…_

"Well," he began, trying not to notice the way Feliciano's eyes widened in anticipation. "He took me out to this little carnival on the outskirts of Berlin. It was really cold, and I had forgotten my jacket so…" Clearing his thought awkwardly, he muttered, "…So he gave me his."

Feliciano was grinning from ear to ear. "And then what?!"

Before he could stop himself, a small smile of his own formed on his lips. "We went on this Ferris wheel. I… I'm actually not good with heights, so I when we got to the top I was kind of nervous. He noticed and…" His smile widening, he looked down at the ground again, the memory of what had happened making his heart race. "…Then he said to me, 'You don't have to be scared, Birdie. I'm right here.' And then…" His voice so low that Feliciano had to lean in to hear what was being said, Matthew whispered, "And then he kissed me."

"Awwwwww!" Feliciano squealed, jumping out of his seat to give Matthew a bone-crushing hug. "That's _sooo _adorable!" Pulling away from the other man, he beamed down at him. "It must have been so romantic! And so cute and amazing and dreamy and fantastic and incredible-"

"Thank you," Matthew interrupted, trying to get the excitable little nation to stop his rambling. Although he might never admit it out loud, he was quite pleased with the other's reaction; he hadn't really gotten a chance to talk about Gilbert with anyone other than Alfred, and having someone new to tell was nice. Looking up at him shyly, he murmured, "It means a lot to me that you're listening to all of this." And it was true—although he knew that Alfred did his best to be a supportive brother, the American was a notoriously bad listener. It was certainly a nice change of pace to talk to someone _and _have them actually pay attention.

"Of course!" Sitting back down, Feliciano flashed him another one of his sunny smiles. "You and Gil make such a cute couple!" Gazing off into space, he hummed happily to himself. "Luddy took me to a carnival once..." He trailed off before giggling into his hand. "But we had to go home early because I kinda threw up on him."

Matthew's eyes widened. "You _threw up _on him?" He'd seen how easily annoyed Ludwig could be at world meetings (though really, it wasn't as if he didn't have a reason to be), and he couldn't imagine how irritated he must have been when _that_ had happened.

Still chuckling guiltily, Feliciano nodded. "Si… I had eaten lots of yummy carnival food right before I made him go on this really fun-looking spinny ride with me. I guess that wasn't such a good idea."

The other man gaped at him for a moment. "Wasn't… Wasn't he really mad at you?"

To his surprise, Feliciano shook his head adamantly. "Oh no, no, no, not all! Well, I mean, he wasn't _happy_, but he didn't get mad at me or anything. He was really nice about it. He helped me get cleaned up, and when I started crying he held my hand. And then on the way home he bought me a teddy bear to make me feel better." Smiling sheepishly, he added, "Though he was pretty grossed out."

Matthew would be lying if he had said that this didn't surprise him. For as long as he had known him, Ludwig seemed to be the kind of person that didn't know what sensitivity _was_, let alone have a sensitive, caring side himself. "Wow," he mused aloud, "I didn't know Ludwig had it in him to be like that."

Feliciano smiled sadly at these words. "Veee… lots of people seem to misjudge him. He's really a sweet guy on the inside, and it kind of makes me sad that no one else seems to realize that."

This hung in the air for a long moment before Matthew whispered, "Gilbert's like that too."

The other nation looked up at him. "Hmm?"

Matthew leaned back in his chair. "People always think that Gil's this big loudmouth that likes nothing else besides drinking and making inappropriate jokes… I mean, he certainly does like doing all those things, but that's not all that he's capable of."

Feliciano tilted his head questioningly. "What do you mean?"

The Canadian frowned to himself, trying to sort out what he wanted to say. "He's just… he has a different side to him that most people don't see. He's kind and loving, and he really does care about others, even if he doesn't act like it all the time. I know that he can be a real jerk sometimes, but most people don't seem to realize that he does it just to get some laughs. He… he loves making other people happy, even if his jokes can be a bit mean. Being the center of attention is something that he just loves to be, and…" Matthew looked down at the ground before continuing, his voice the quietest it had been the entire night. "…And he brings me out of my shell and teaches me that it's okay to not be so shy all of the time… There are lots of other reasons, of course, but I think that that's a big reason why I love him so much." Finished with this confession, he stared determinedly at the floorboards, trying to forget his embarrassment.

The room had gone strangely quiet, save for the low sound of stew simmering in the background. Getting a bit nervous that Feliciano had reacted negatively to what he had said, Matthew glanced up at the other nation.

To his surprise, rather than looking bored or annoyed at his rather lengthy explanation (as Alfred had looked in the past), Feliciano actually had tears running down his face. His eyes had gone rather pink, and he looked as if he were trying to hold back outright sobs.

Concerned, Matthew reached a hand over to pat his shoulder. "F-Feli? Are you o-?"

Without any warning at all, Feliciano suddenly pulled the other man in for a gigantic bear hug, causing Matthew's chair to lean over dangerously towards the ground. "WAAAAAAAHHH! Oh my goodness, that was _beautiful_!" He buried his face in the other man's shoulder before wailing, "Do you have any idea how amazing that was?! You two are _sooooo _perfect for each other!"

Matthew had to clutch onto the table to avoid having the chair tip over with him in it. Patting Feliciano's shoulder stiffly, he mumbled, "Uh, I appreciate the sentiment… But can you let go of me now? I'm kind of falling over."

Giving him one last tight hug, the other man pulled away, wiping the tears from his eyes. Once he caught his breath again, he gave him a watery smile. "Oh Matthew," he breathed, starting to tear up again, "You guys make such an adorable couple. I'm so happy for you two!"

Flushing red all over again, Matthew couldn't help but give a shy smile of his own. "Y-You really mean it?"

"Si. I really do." Sniffling, Feliciano rubbed his nose before his face adopted a rare, thoughtful expression. "Veee, it's true though, what you said. Gil always acts like such a clown that no one really thinks about how he has a gentle, kind side too."

The Canadian nodded. "Yeah, he does. But it sounds like people don't know that about Ludwig, either… From what you said, he seems like a really nice person."

Feliciano sighed contentedly. "He is."

A companionable silence fell on the two before a silly, love-struck smile appeared on his face. "Ludwig's really affectionate sometimes, too."

Matthew couldn't help but chuckle quietly in disbelief. "Ludwig Beilschmidt is _affectionate_?"

The other nation giggled and nodded his head. "Yep! Veee, but if I point it out he gets all flustered and shy about it. It's really cute." Staring off dreamily into space, he began to play with his hair, twirling it distractedly as his mind drifted to thoughts of Ludwig. "Like, for example, he knows that I'm really scared of thunderstorms. Whenever it storms outside, he always gets lots of blankets and bundles us up with them on the couch." His voice lowering, his smile softened at all of the memories. "He'll just hold me there in his arms until the storm passes, trying to make me feel better. He always tries to distract me, too—like he'll talk to me, or try to make me laugh. But the best part is when he sings."

Matthew blinked. "He sings to you?"

Feliciano sighed, resting his head in his hands as he gazed off into space. "Si… When the storms are really bad outside and I can't stop crying, he sings all of these really nice songs to me. Sometimes it's funny songs to try to make me laugh, and other times it's songs that he's heard me sing before, but my favorites are the lullabies. He just holds me in his arms and sings me lullabies until I fall asleep…" His voice drifting off, he was silent for a moment before adding, "I used to think that thunderstorms were the scariest things in the world, but now that Ludwig is always there, they're not so bad anymore."

The other man stared at him before a small smile formed on his own lips. "That… That sounds amazing, Feli." Although he didn't say anything, what Feliciano had said brought back all the tender moments that he and Gilbert had shared together as well… teaching Gilbert how to make maple cookies, Gilbert hugging him during the scary parts of horror movies, laying outside with Gilbert to look at the stars together…

Suddenly, the sound of arguing voices outside of the house reached his ears. Looking up, he realized that Gilbert and Ludwig must have gotten home. Next to him, Feliciano giggled and commented, "Veee, those two never stop fighting, do they?" Before Matthew could respond, the Italian sprung up out of his seat and started heading for the door. "Let's go say hello to them!"

"Wait!"

He stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Yes?"

Embarrassed by what he planned to say next, Matthew blushed and avoided Feliciano's eyes. "I… I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed talking to you. You… You and I don't really talk all that much, and it was nice to-"

Once again, the air was knocked out of his lungs as Feliciano tackled him into yet another hug, again coming very close to having the chair fall over. Startled, Matthew could only cling onto the table as Feliciano began to squeal excitedly into his ear. "Me too, me too, me too! Veee, it was really fun talking about Luddy and Gil and how much they love us and how much we love them and-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Matthew chuckled gently, trying to untangle himself from the other's arms. "I had fun too." Getting up from his chair, he patted the other's shoulder. "Now let's go welcome them home, shall we?"

XxxxX

Getting out of his car, Ludwig gave an exhausted sigh. The meeting in Hamburg hadn't gone well at all, and he wasn't looking forward to reporting to his boss the next day.

Before he could make his way up the driveway, the sound of screeching tires and hollering voices caught his attention. Turning around, he saw his brother, Antonio, and Francis pull up in Francis's fancy Renault convertible, all three of them wearing cheeky expressions.

"Hey broseph!" Gilbert cried, climbing out of the car. "Check out this sweet new ride of Francis's! Holy freaking cow, am I right?!" He whooped admirably, running his hands over the car's exterior. "I mean, I'll be honest, I'm not much for French cars, but _damn_!"

Ludwig groaned, putting his face in his hands. "Does this mean that you spent all day driving around and not drafting those proposals like Merkel asked you to?"

His brother snickered. "Kesesesese! Why the hell would the awesome me waste my time doing shit like that when I could be out having fun with these badasses?" Antonio and Francis high-fived each other, both looking far too pleased with themselves.

Ludwig could feel his blood pressure rising. "Gilbert," he growled, his voice dangerously low. "When the prime minister of Germany asks you to do something, you do it."

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Dude, really? Why would I do that when I know that you'll just cover for my ass?"

Antonio jumped in. "Besides Ludwig, we had a really fun time!"

Francis chuckled. "It's true—we painted the town red. Perhaps you could join us next time."

The German man threw his hands up in the air. "I'm not going _anywhere_ with you maniacs! _Ever_!" Spinning around, he grabbed Gilbert by the collar and hauled him away from the car. "As for you, I'm never letting you out of my sight again! Honestly, how irresponsible can you be?!"

Gilbert snorted dismissively, though he waved goodbye to Antonio and Francis as his brother dragged him towards the door. "Bye guys. West is probably gonna go torture me or something. I'd leave before your clothes get blood-splattered."

Taking the hint, Francis hit the gas and the two sped off, leaving Gilbert to his fate.

Once they got to the front door, Ludwig let go of Gilbert's collar in favor of crossing his arms disapprovingly. "Really Gilbert, I'm sick and tired of your attitude towards the responsibilities given to you."

"_Really Gilbert, I'm sick and tired of your attitude towards the responsibilities given to you_," Gilbert mocked, scrunching up his face and shaking a finger at Ludwig. "_But then again, I, Ludwig Beilschmidt, am just a boring old prude that doesn't know what fun is."_

"Will you STOP?!" Ludwig roared, wanting very much to strangle his older brother. "Do you know how difficult it is to cover for you all of the time?! Do you have any idea how stressful it is?! Do you-"

Suddenly, the front door swung open, interrupting him. Surprised, Ludwig stopped his lecturing and Gilbert stopped his mocking, both looking up.

Standing in the doorway, of course, were none other than Feliciano and Matthew, both men looking very happy to see them. Before either Ludwig or Gilbert could say anything, Feliciano catapulted himself into Ludwig's arms, nearly barreling him over. "You're hoooooome!" he squealed, his enthusiastic neck-hugging nearly cutting of his lover's circulation. Beside him, Matthew smiled shyly and gave a little wave.

"Birdie!" Gilbert cried, pulling his boyfriend in for a hug of his own. Kissing the top of his head, he asked, "What's the occasion? Why're you guys here?"

Blushing at his boyfriend's public (well, public to him) display of affection, Matthew murmured, "Well I actually stopped by to surprise you, but you weren't home. And then Feli came by to surprise Ludwig, and he made you guys some sort of stew for when you got back."

"Stew, huh?" Sniffing the air, Gilbert realized that there was a rather scrumptious scent coming from the kitchen. "Smells great. What kind?"

Matthew frowned—Feliciano had never actually given a specific name. "Hmmm… I don't know. Something with beans, I think." Still pressed to Gilbert's chest, he opened his mouth to ask. "Hey Feli? What's the name of that stew again?"

When no response came, both he and Gilbert turned around to look at him. To Gilbert's amusement (and Matthew's embarrassment), the little Italian currently had Ludwig trapped in what looked like a very passionate, impromptu kissing session. Whenever Ludwig would try to pull away, Feliciano would kiss him even harder, obviously not keen on the idea of stopping. Eventually it seemed that Ludwig gave up on trying to get away from him, and he began kissing back with the same ferocity. It was apparent that neither was listening—or even could listen—to what the other two had to say.

Chuckling, Gilbert elbowed Matthew in the ribs. "Hey Birdie. Wanna do what they're doing?"

Flushing red all over again, Matthew squeaked and shook his head. "N-No! W-We can't do that here!" Catching sight of the slightly offended look on his boyfriend's face, he looked down before whispering, "But we can do it later in private if you want…"

Gilbert grinned and pecked him once on the lips for good measure. "Okay. But you promised, so no take-backs." Glancing back at his brother and Feliciano, he snickered before adding, "Looks like they're gonna be distracted for a while. Let's go inside, eat some stew, and do that private kissing stuff before West notices that we're gone, 'kay?"

In spite of himself, Matthew couldn't help but gently giggle at what 'private kissing stuff' implied. "Alright." Hand in hand, they walked into the house, leaving Ludwig and Feliciano (who were still very much distracted) out on the porch.

_**A/N #2: If anyone cares, the green bean stew that Feliciano made is called "Bohnen Eintopf". It's pretty good, according to my German sources xD.**_


End file.
